1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a fishing reel comprising a reel body, a spool supported at opposite end portions thereof by the reel body, a thumb rest element fixed to the reel body, and a clutch for selectively setting the spool to a free rotation condition.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Examples of the above-noted conventional fishing reels are proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,024 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,893. The former discloses a clutch control member positioned rearwardly of a spool but does not disclose a thumb rest. The latter discloses a control member mounted on a transverse frame positioned rearwardly of a spool. In both patents, the spool is set to a free rotation condition by moving the control member downwardly.
When casting a fishing line from such a fishing reel, the fisherman presses the control member downwardly by the thumb of his or her right hand and swings a rod to unwind the fishing line from the spool. To prevent the fishing line from being drawn out excessively, inertial rotation of the spool is slowed by lightly placing the right thumb on an outer periphery of the spool (or the fishing line wound around the spool). This is called thumbing. In the fishing reels disclosed in the above-identified patents, during thumbing, to fix the thumb in place, the right thumb is placed on an upper face of the control member.
However, this control member is not positionally stabilized. There are gaps (or play) within a link mechanism connected to the control member, or pivotal support portions, which allow for movement of the control member. It is difficult to achieve delicate thumbing with the thumb resting against such a movable control member. In addition, in the prior art, the upper position of the control member is too high.
Another prior art fishing reel has a thumb rest positioned rearwardly of the spool, and a control member provided on a lateral plate or the like, separately from the thumb rest. With this structure, the thumb rest allows for delicate movement of the thumb during a baitcasting operation. However, in this reel, it takes too much time to begin the thumbing operation after completion of the control member operation.